This follows straight on from Chapter Two. Enjoy
Jack raised his head, Ianto stood up and followed Isabelle as well. Jack's voice followed them as they walked away "Don't lose your temper, Ianto"
Ianto grinned and shook his head as he walked up the corridor. Isabelle looked at him curiously and asked "What was that all about?"
The smile vanished instantly and Ianto answered with another question "Is that relevant?"
"Well, no, but…"
"Then I don't have to tell you"
Isabelle huffed as she opened the interview room's door and let Ianto in. Pete looked up from his notes on Jack's interview and smiled "Hello, Mr Jones. I'm PC Riddell, this is PC Grove. Sit down, please"
Ianto sat down, but unlike Jack, he sat on the edge of the seat and leant his elbows on the desk.
"So" began Pete "How long have you known Kamaria?"
"I've known of Kari for as long as I've known her father, about eight years. Actually knowing the girl myself, almost three years"
"Do you like her?"
"I love Kari. She's a lovely girl, with rather unfortunate family circumstances. She coped remarkably well for a little girl when her parents split up"
"You think running away is unusual for Kamaria?"
"She's never seemed like the type of girl to run away from her problems, but I don't know what prompted this disappearance. Maybe it all got too much for her. I sincerely hope that isn't the case"
"According to her diary, Kamaria believed that her mother didn't love her and she was in the way of your relationship with her father. That is cited as the reason she ran away. As an outside observer, do you believe that is true?"
"What, that her mother doesn't love her?"
"Yes"
Ianto ran a hand through his hair and sighed "This doesn't go outside this room. Jack gets upset every time I mention this. I don't believe Gwen does love Kari. She always acts very cold around Kari whenever she comes to visit. She acts like it's an obligation to come and visit her daughter, rather than a joy, which it should be"
"There's got to be more to your theory than that" Pete encouraged.
Ianto sighed again and continued "She acts like Kari's a disappointment. No matter how well Kari does, at school or at sport, even in her hobbies, unless she's perfect, Gwen doesn't want to know. She doesn't admit she's got a daughter to her friends near her new home, because one of them came with Gwen when she visited Kari and was genuinely shocked at Kari's existence. Gwen tried to pass it off as forgetfulness, but the reaction was too realistic to be that."
Isabelle was sitting silently next to Pete, and her face was trying to remain impassive, but as Ianto finished his sentence, she could no longer contain her disgust and cried out "Well, is it any wonder she ran away? I'd want to get away from a mother like that. Why hasn't she been barred access"
"Because she's an ex-police officer and they are supposed to be trustworthy people. That, and one of the conditions of the divorce was that Gwen was allowed access to Kari. We can't afford a lawyer to fight for full custody"
"If you could, would you?"
"Kari isn't my daughter, so it's not my decision to make, it's Jack's. However, if she was my daughter, and she practically is, I would certainly try to fight for full custody."
"I see" said Pete, musingly "How long has your relationship with Mr Harkness gone on for?"
Ianto instantly tensed up, a fact not missed by the two police officers and replied "Almost three years. It'll be three years this April. The 29th."
"What did Kamaria think of her father's new relationship?"
"I would never have started anything with Jack without Kari's approval. She had been through enough, I didn't want to upset her further by taking some of her father's attention away from her. She needed someone"
"So Kamaria gave her approval?"
"I sent her a present every year for her birthday and Christmas, because I had been a friend of the family before Jack and Gwen had split up. Around three weeks after her birthday, I received a note. It was from Kari, saying thank you for her present, but the best present I could give her would be to say yes to Jack, because he was driving her insane, moping around the house every time I said no. That would have been her thirteenth birthday. Jack came to visit me about four weeks later, saying that this was the last time he would try and he wouldn't be annoying me again. I still remember the look on his face when I said yes. When he asked me what changed my mind, I just laughed and said 'Kari'"
"Kamaria was essentially responsible for your relationship"
"That's Kari through and through. She wrote like she was just sick of Jack, but when she saw him and me together, I could see the worry lifting from her face. She had been worried about her father, worried about his happiness first and her happiness second. She's a good girl, our Kari, a good, sweet, unselfish girl, who deserves so much more than we can give her"
"You sound very fond of Kari" Isabelle said, smiling.
Ianto laughed a little "Jack always said she was as much my daughter as his. I'd like to think Kari thought the same, because I always tried to treat her like she was my daughter"
Pete nodded and said "She did, Mr Jones, she did. Now, when's Kamaria's birthday?"
"10th March, 1993. She just turned sixteen"
"Okay. Do you know of anything that may have prompted her to think 'enough is enough' as you put it, and run away"
"Nothing, unless…"
"What, Mr Jones?" Pete prompted.
"Her mother is supposed to come down on Kari's birthdays and she has, albeit more and more reluctantly. But this time…"
"She didn't?"
"She called about two days before to say that she was terribly sorry, but something extremely urgent had come up and she just had to leave. Something to do with her work, I think, but her husband, Owen, was going with her, so I suspect it was just an excuse. She didn't even remember to send Kari a present or even text her to say happy birthday"
Ianto sighed and rubbed his face with a hand wearily before finishing "I heard Kari crying that night. When I went into her room, she instantly stopped and denied she ever had been crying. I couldn't do anything to help, because then I would have been accusing her of being a liar, and Kari hardly ever lies. She said she made a New Year's resolution once, to stop lying"
Pete glanced at Isabelle, who was watching Ianto with big eyes, full of sadness and anger, then looked back Ianto, who looked drained and upset, before saying quietly "Okay, Mr Jones, that will do, thank you. You can go"
Ianto jumped to his feet and Isabelle got up as well and escorted him back to the waiting room. Jack was still there, dozing in one of the chairs.
Ianto just walked over to him, sat down next to him and buried his head into Jack's shoulder. Jack opened his eyes and worry instantly flickered in his eyes as he took in Ianto's crumpled figure.
Jack reached up to cradle Ianto's head, murmuring "What's wrong, my love?"
Ianto didn't answer and just tried to bury himself further into Jack. Jack looked over his head and mouthed "What happened?"
Isabelle mouthed back "We had him talking about Kamaria. I think he's realised just how scared he is"
Jack nodded and shifted in his seat a bit, allowing Ianto to wrap both arms around Jack's waist, clinging to his shirt, while Jack rubbed Ianto's back soothingly. Ianto's shoulders were shaking and to Isabelle's horror, she realised that Ianto was crying.
She turned away to give them a bit of privacy, but as she walked away, she heard Jack call her name "PC Grove"
Isabelle turned and Jack smiled at her "Thank you, Constable"
Isabelle felt her heart lift at the simple thanks, even if she was unsure as to why Jack had thanked her. Isabelle smiled back and said "I'm Isabelle, sir"
"Then thank you, Isabelle"
Isabelle went back into the interview room to join Pete and sat down with a sigh, asking "Well?"
"Well, it should be obvious even to a blind man that the child hasn't lacked love on this side of her family. Those two men adore her. On the other side, however…"
Isabelle nodded her agreement "However much love you may receive from one parent, it can hardly make up for the lack of love from the other parent, no matter how much it is. How can people be so callous to their own flesh and blood?"
Pete frowned "We won't be able to tell until we meet the mother. Do you think we should talk to the stepfather as well?"
"Why are you asking me?" Isabelle asked "It's your decision"
"Yes, but this is a team. I won't do anything you think is stupid"
"I can't see any reason why we shouldn't, but I can't see much reason why we should"
"So you're sitting on the fence about it?"
"Yep!"
"Thanks Isabelle, that's really helpful"
"Heh, my pleasure"